IBARAKI –
Prolonged heavy rain throughout Japan has reworked waterfalls, broken flower fields and disrupted sightseeing, whereas linear rainbands shaped over Aichi and Gifu prefectures on September 8 and authorities warned that harmful rainfall may proceed in a number of areas.
At Fukuroda Falls in Daigo, Ibaraki Prefecture, footage taken on the morning of September 7 confirmed a dramatically elevated quantity of muddy brown water in contrast with regular situations.
The falls, one in all Japan’s three most celebrated waterfalls and a significant vacationer attraction in Daigo, are usually identified for his or her altering look by the 4 seasons, however persistent heavy rain attributable to a stalled climate entrance has reworked the panorama.
One customer stated the amount of water was far higher than anticipated. “It had been raining until recently, so I was surprised by how much water there was,” the vacationer stated. “It looked like about 1.5 times as much water as I imagined. I feel like I came at a good time.”
Naoki Fujita, supervisor of the Fukuroda Falls statement facility, stated the rain was additionally affecting customer numbers. “When it rains, fewer people come, and the number of visitors has not really returned to what it was before,” Fujita stated. “More water can make the falls more powerful, but if there is too much, the spray can make it difficult to see them. It is a difficult balance.”
Heavy rain has persevered notably throughout the Kanto and Tohoku areas underneath the affect of a stationary autumn rain entrance.
In Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, 12-hour rainfall reached 193 millimeters, setting a September report.
In Niijima, one of many Izu Islands administered by Tokyo, rainfall from September 2 by the morning of September 8 totaled 783.5 millimeters, greater than twice the realm’s common rainfall for a complete month.
Oshima recorded 581.5 millimeters of rain over 24 hours on September 7, the very best September complete since observations started there, leaving harm throughout the island and disrupting guests’ journey plans.
One vacationer stated worsening rain and ferry cancellations left them unable to go away the island. “We arrived the day before yesterday, and after that the rain became much worse,” the customer stated. “The ferries were canceled and we couldn’t get off the island, so we had no choice but to stay inside the hotel. The place where we first stayed was in a landslide warning area, so on the first day we had to evacuate to Oshima High School.”
The vacationer stated the extreme climate compelled modifications to the deliberate itinerary from the primary day of the journey.
Although situations improved throughout the reporting interval and the ocean appeared calm sufficient for diving, warnings remained in place. Two teams with diving reservations for September 8 had been unable to enter the water.
“We finally saw the sea calm down today and were saying, ‘We can dive now,’ but the warning still hasn’t been lifted,” an area operator stated. “So we are refraining from diving.”
Heavy rain additionally brought on harm at Tokyo German Village in Sodegaura, Chiba Prefecture, the place intense rainfall struck on September 7.
At one of many park’s fashionable photograph spots, the place flowers cowl a broad hillside, a part of a subject containing round 40,000 marigold vegetation approaching peak bloom was washed away by the rain.
Kota Yamano of Tokyo German Village stated the sloping terrain helps the flowers develop but additionally permits rainwater to circulation shortly downhill. “These marigolds are only just coming into their season, so seeing them knocked over is the hardest part,” Yamano stated.
Cosmos seedlings that had solely lately begun to emerge had been additionally partly buried by soil and sediment washed into the flower beds.
Asked how employees may reply, Yamano stated eradicating the soil risked damaging the vegetation. “We can’t really move this soil,” he stated. “If we try to remove it, we could tear up the cosmos as well. All we can do is hope they grow strongly through it.”
Heavy rain continued throughout a large space of Japan on September 8 underneath the affect of the autumn rain entrance and the remnants of former Typhoon No. 24, which had weakened right into a tropical melancholy.
In Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, torrential rain brought on roads to flood round 3:30 p.m., with passing autos sending waves of rainwater throughout inundated streets.
A Level 4 heavy rain hazard warning was in impact for Nagoya and surrounding areas, and the Tokaido Shinkansen suspended operations on a part of its route due to the climate.
The Japan Meteorological Agency introduced on the afternoon of September 8 that linear rainbands had shaped over western Aichi Prefecture and the Mino area of Gifu Prefecture.
In Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, intersections had been flooded, with water sprayed by passing autos rising as excessive as close by parking zone fences.
Neighboring Yokkaichi recorded 79.5 millimeters of rain in a single hour, an depth corresponding to a waterfall, whereas water surged from manholes like fountains.
Heavy rain additionally started falling in central Tokyo round 3 p.m.
The climate company issued half-day forecasts warning of the attainable formation of linear rainbands in areas together with Kanto-Koshin and Shikoku, heightening concern over additional flooding and landslides.
The dangers can stay even after the rain stops.
Footage from Akame 48 Waterfalls, a gorge in Nabari, Mie Prefecture, taken in June 2026 after a hurricane confirmed sections of a usually accessible strolling path submerged underneath floodwater. Even after the hurricane had handed, muddy torrents continued to hurry by the gorge.
Nobuyuki Tsuchiya of the Riverfront Research Center stated river ranges can stay elevated for 2 to a few days after heavy rain as a result of water absorbed into the bottom is progressively launched and drains into rivers.
When the soil is already saturated, further rain can’t readily soak into the bottom and as a substitute flows straight into waterways, which means even comparatively gentle rain could cause sudden rises in river ranges for a few week afterward.
Tsuchiya stated the quantity of rain that has fallen earlier than a go to is due to this fact essential even when the climate itself seems sunny.
He urged folks visiting mountains and gorges to hold light-weight life jackets and helmets to assist defend themselves.
Linear rainbands could kind within the Kanto area from the night time of September 8 into September 9, and authorities are urging continued warning over flooding, landslides and quickly rising rivers.
Source: FNN